KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is on course to hit its 2030 renewable energy (RE) target with years to spare, having already achieved nearly 33% of RE in its power generation capacity against a goal of 35%, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The 35% target is part of Malaysia’s RE roadmap, with the government aiming to increase the share to 40% by 2040 and 70% by 2050.
“We have already reached nearly 33%. Our target is 35% by 2030. God willing, we will achieve it earlier,” Fadillah told the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (June 25).
He said the government’s commitment was not only to expand RE generation, but also to ensure a secure and affordable electricity supply for both households and industries.
Fadillah said solar remained the fastest-growing RE source, but its intermittent nature meant Malaysia had to invest in battery energy storage systems to store excess electricity generated during the day for use at night.
He said the government was implementing battery storage projects through open tenders to ensure transparency and encourage wider industry participation.
Fadillah said foreign companies had also expressed interest in Malaysia’s RE sector, but government policy required at least 51% equity ownership in such projects to remain in the hands of local companies to help develop the domestic industry.
He said one of the biggest challenges was balancing the expansion of renewable energy with maintaining the reliability of the national grid, while ensuring projects remained bankable through adequate financing.
To support the transition, the government has introduced initiatives such as the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (Cress), the Community Renewable Energy Aggregation Mechanism (Cream) and Solar Madani, all of which have received encouraging responses from both local and foreign companies, he added.
